Mannarino Advances to Newport Semifinals and Secures Spot in US Open Main Draw

Adrian Mannarino has been in top form at the Newport Challenger. On the American grass courts, the Frenchman had to play two matches in the same day to make up for delays caused by rain in recent days.

After his victory against Tyler Zink in the round of 16, the 37-year-old took on Bernard Tomic on Friday evening. The former rising star of Australian tennis, now ranked 214th, remains a dangerous opponent in any match.

Indeed, the 32-year-old Tomic got off to a strong start, even leading 6-4, 2-1 with a break. In this clash between former top-20 players, Mannarino then shifted gears, winning 11 of the last 12 games to ultimately secure his place in the semifinals (4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in 1h37).

With 27 winners to 21 unforced errors, the Frenchman displayed solid tennis to overpower Tomic for the second time this season, following his victory earlier this year on clay at the Mexico tournament.

Good news for Mannarino, who is now guaranteed to return to the top 100 after the tournament. Ranked 123rd at the start of the week, he will climb to at least 97th and has also secured direct entry into the US Open main draw without needing to go through qualifying.

As if one piece of good news wasn’t enough, there will be a Frenchman in the Newport final, as the former world No. 17 will face qualifier Antoine Ghibaudo, who eliminated lucky loser James Watt (6-3, 6-1).